SSAOST4: Les Petits Enfants
by The Needless Lobsters
Summary: After having four rambunctious and adventurous kids, how exactly do Tony and Ziva cope with their new, absolutely hectic lifestyle? This story is set during and after SSAOST3, and is the first group out of a series of oneshots.
1. Losing Kids

**Hello, readers! Here's the first chapter of the sequel to SSAOST3. In this story, it's going to be a load of oneshots about the DiNozzo family as they grow up, and they'll be split into groups for the stories. This first group has oneshots of when the twins are between the ages of 5 and 10.  
**

**Anyway, I'll make sure to add the ages of the children at the beginnings of the oneshots as well, just so that you understand exactly where in the story the family is.  
**

**So, read on!**

* * *

_**Kate**** and TJ are 4 years old. Maria is 18.**_

"Okay, girls, get into the car. It's time to go home," Maria called out to the twins as she watched them chatter with their friends amiably.

"Okay, Auntie Maria!" the twins called out before saying goodbye to their friends. They quickly ran over to where their aunt was waiting by her car, gripping the straps of their rucksacks tightly as they did so.

Maria chuckled as she opened the car door for the girls to climb in, their booster seats already set up.

The girls groaned. "Why do we have to sit in the booster seats, Auntie Maria?"

"Because you're not tall enough to sit on your own yet," she explained patiently as she helped the girls into the car and did up their seat belts for them. "If you didn't sit on booster seats, the cops would get us, and that wouldn't be good, would it?"

The girls shook their heads before having another thought.

"Isn't daddy a cop?" TJ asked as Maria started the car.

"No, daddy's a Federal Agent," Maria corrected. "And so is mommy, and Uncle Tim, and Grandpa Gibbs."

"What about Auntie Abby?" Kate asked.

Maria pulled up at a stop light. "She's a Forensic Analyst," she continued to explain.

"And Auntie Andy?"

"She's a children's doctor."

The girls continued to list off all the aunts and uncles they knew, and Maria explained every single one of their jobs to them.

It wasn't long before they reached the Navy Yard, and mere minutes after Maria was parking in the spot that was usually reserved for Ziva. She smirked. They'd traveled to work together, then…

Kate looked outside of the car window, a confused expression on face. "Where's mommy's car?"

"It's at home, honey," Maria said. "Mommy can to work with daddy in his car this morning."

"Oh."

Maria climbed out of the car and took the keys out of the ignition before unbuckling the two girls and lifting them out of the car. "Alright, you two, wait here so that I can get some bags out of the trunk, okay?" she turned to head to the back of the car before she got an answer.

Of course, when she returned to where she had left the girls, she had expected them to _still be there._

She growled when she realized the girls had disappeared and began to look around some of the other cars in the parking lot. "Kate! TJ! Quit playing with me now!" She knelt down and looked under the cars. "We're not playing games anymore! We're in a Federal building!" She sighed and stood up. She'd lost the twins.

Her face paled when the realization hit her.

She'd _lost_ the twins.

She groaned.

Ziva was going to _kill_ her.

* * *

Tony sighed as he completed another stack of paperwork, pushing the completed pile to the side and pulling the next pile in front of him. Three weeks straight of cases had caused the paperwork for the field agents to pile up quickly, and it was only now that they had the time to complete it.

Ziva groaned as she completed another of her piles. "Three piles down, one left to go," she groaned as she pulled the last pile in front of her and began to work on it.

Tony smirked as he continued to go through his pile. "You're so lucky." He looked over at what he had left. "I have two piles left."

"I have three," McGee muttered as he went through his paperwork pile tiredly.

"Yeah, well you had the most to begin with, didn't you McGoo?"

McGee looked up and frowned at Tony. "You snuck some of your paperwork into my pile again, didn't you?" he asked, feeling very annoyed with him all of a sudden.

"Maybe…"

"Oh, come on, Tony!"

Eglé walked into the bullpen just then, carrying another stack of papers. "Guys, I bring gifts…"

Ziva stared at her. "That's not a gift. That is a curse."

Eglé chuckled. "Yes, well, where shall I put these papers? Or am I meant to complete them?"

"If you could complete them, then that would be very kind of you."

Eglé nodded. "It would… maybe I should just leave these on Tony's desk."

"Hey!" Tony cried out indignantly. "I don't deserve this!"

"You left your paperwork on my desk," McGee muttered.

Just then, the elevator dinged, and Ziva turned to see her younger half-sister, Maria David, walking into the bullpen…

Alone.

She frowned at her. "Maria, where are the twins?"

Maria froze at the entrance to the bullpen, scratching the back of her neck nervously. "Heh, funny story…"

Tony's eyes narrowed. Those words were never good… "Maria, what did you do with our kids?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

Maria took a deep breath. "I lost the twins."

The whole bullpen was silent for a little while before anyone decided to speak up again.

"What did you say?" Ziva whispered, her eyes wide with fear.

Maria gulped. "I… uh… I lost the twins…"

Tony put his head in his hands. "You lost them?! How the hell could you lose our kids?!" he demanded.

She shrugged. "Never turn your back on them for more than a second?"

"This isn't funny, Maria!" he snapped, slamming his pen down on the table. "My kids could be running anywhere in this building from Autopsy to MTAC!"

"Tony!" Ziva cried out. "Calm down! We will find them, alright?" She looked over at her younger sister. "And this should not happen again. Understood, Maria?"

Maria nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Do not call me that."

"Yes, Ziva."

* * *

Tony sighed. "Right, so how are we doing this?"

The team had gathered in the bullpen. Abby had been sent a warning, so she was looking out for the twins, whilst the rest of them had decided to search the rest of the building.

"We should split up and search," Gibbs suggested. "Those kids could be anywhere in this building. Each agent to check a separate floor. Got it?"

The four agents nodded. "Yes, boss."

"I'll head to the basement," McGee suggested before heading to the elevator.

"I shall head towards the gym," Ziva said.

"I'll go and check in MTAC," Eglé suggested.

"And I'll head towards finance," Tony agreed. "We'll call each other if anything happens, such as finding them."

"Got it." Ziva pecked her husband on the lips before racing down towards the gym.

Tony nodded and smiled before heading off towards finance.

Gibbs sighed and stood in the middle of the bullpen, trying to think of where the twins would have headed. He took a sip of his coffee before heading to the entrance level on the ground floor.

Hopefully they'd find them.

* * *

Kate giggled as she ducked behind a couple of desks, hiding from any suspecting agents. TJ followed her big sister and did the same, giggling quietly. The two were out 'exploring', as they called it, avoiding adults and trying to find as many new hiding places in the NCIS office as they could before getting caught.

"When do you think they'll find us?" TJ whispered.

Kate shrugged. "I don't know…" She ducked when she spotted another agent walking past.

TJ crawled underneath some of the desks and began to pick up random things she found, such as elastic bands and paper clips.

Kate frowned. "TJ! What are you doing?" she hissed.

"These are pretty," TJ defended, crawling towards the elevator.

Kate followed her sister. "Where are we going?"

"Maybe we can head downstairs and see if Grandpa Ducky can give us some hot chocolate…" the younger twin suggested.

Kate grinned. "Good idea!" She crawled over to the elevator and pressed the button to go down before quickly crawling in with her sister. She pressed the button for autopsy, grinning at the fact that she was now tall enough to press the button, and the two watched the doors close before waiting for it to go down.

Just as it reached the floor for Forensics, however, the elevator stopped, and the door slowly slid open. The girls' eyes widened.

Their parents were in there.

And boy, did they look mad.

"Close the doors close the doors close the doors!" Kate hissed.

"I'm closing them, I'm closing them!" TJ replied as she repeatedly pressed the button to close the doors. When the doors eventually closed, they sighed with relief.

"Phew, that was a close one!" TJ said.

* * *

Tony sighed as he stood in Abby's lab, leaning on one of her work tables, with his wife standing beside him. "So you haven't seen them? At all?"

Abby shook her head solemnly. "Not at all." She sighed and twisted her fingers in her pigtails nervously. "Tony… what if we don't find them?"

Ziva glared at her. "Abby, please… they are my daughters. We will find them."

"Are you sure of it?"

Ziva's glare faltered.

Tony wrapped his arm around his wife's waist and kissed her temple softly. "We're going to find them. I'm definitely sure of it."

The trio failed to notice when the elevator arrived, used to the usual ding of its bell, so they didn't realize who exactly had been in the elevator and didn't even turn around when it left without anyone leaving it.

That was their big mistake.

* * *

Little Kate DiNozzo sighed with relief when they both finally managed to reach the floor for Autopsy. They'd managed to get all the way down to the basement without getting caught…

The doors to the elevator opened, and the twins gasped.

At the end of the corridor stood Leroy Jethro Gibbs, talking to Grandpa Ducky.

The two girls carefully and quietly ducked out of the elevator, using tricks that their own parents had taught them in order to get away from kidnappers, and snuck over to the stairs. The two girls quietly climbed, hoping to avoid any agents coming down.

* * *

Gibbs sighed and ran a hand through his hair whilst he held his coffee with the other. "Where would they be?" he asked, not exactly speaking to anyone in particular.

"Well, maybe you should study the girls' behaviours more," Ducky offered as he walked back into Autopsy with Gibbs in tow. "Don't forget, those two are a combination of two absolutely brilliant agents, one of whom is a former Mossad Officer and the other a former Police Officer. They have inherited the guts and the stealth that they need from both sides." He looked over at Jimmy. "Mr Palmer, have you finished that Autopsy yet?"

Jimmy shook his head as he noted something down. "Not yet, Dr Mallard. I'm nearly done though. Just a little more to check."

Ducky nodded. "Well, I hope you finish soon, Mr Palmer."

Gibbs looked over at the body. "This for that other team, Palmer?"

Jimmy nodded. "Yes, Gibbs."

"Good for you. Get it done." He turned and walked straight out.

He had to find those twins.

* * *

The twins were giggling as they ran up the stairs. The stairwell, luckily for them, was completely empty. None of the agents or workers at the Navy Yard ever used them, all of them preferring to use the elevators instead.

"We're really good at being sneaky, aren't we?" TJ whispered.

"Uh-huh," Kate replied.

"And we're really good at tricking people."

"Uh-huh."

"And we're really good at—"

"TJ, be quiet please."

TJ pouted. "Why should I be quiet? You talk all the time anyway!"

"I'm not talking now."

"You just did."

"TJ, stop it!"

The twins failed to notice when someone entered the stairwell from the entrance just behind them until he noticed them himself. "Well, what do we have here?"

The girls froze. "Uh oh…"

* * *

Eglé sighed. "They are not in MTAC…" she muttered. "So where could they be?" She walked out of the room, feeling worried. _Where on earth could those mischeivious little girls be…?_

"Agent McCoy!"

Eglé turned to see one of the younger agents running towards her. She put on a smile. "Yes?"

The younger agent panted. "You're a part of Special Agent Gibbs' team, right?"

She nodded.

"The Director wants to see you!"

Eglé frowned, but nodded. "Okay, thank you." She turned and headed for the Director's office, walking straight through to the actual room. She knocked on his door.

"Come in," came the answer from the other side of the door.

Eglé walked into the room and froze.

Director Leon Vance sat at the meeting table, a plate of ham sandwiches with the crusts cut off in front of him. On either side of him sat two girls with dark hair – one's hair far longer than the other's – each of them sipping on juice boxes. They turned when they heard the door open, their bright green eyes shining.

"Ah, Agent McCoy," the Director started. "I seem to have something that belongs to Agent DiNozzo. I was wondering if you could contact him and get him up here?"

Eglé nodded and pulled out her phone. She dialed Tony's number. "Hello? Agent DiNozzo… yes… the Director would like to see you…"

* * *

Tony sighed with relief when he opened the door. "Kate! TJ!"

The twins jumped up. "Daddy!" They ran over to him, hugging his legs.

He chuckled. "And where did you two decide to explore this time?" he asked, still a bit annoyed with the girls. He'd let Ziva deal with that, though.

"Well, we explored the NCIS building!" Kate exclaimed.

"Yeah! And we went toy hunting, and I found paperclips and elastic bands, and then we had a ride in the e-le-va-tah," TJ pronounced, "and then we sneaked past Grandpa Gibbs and climbed up the stairs and then Director Vance caught us."

Tony just stared at his daughter before sighing and taking both girls' hands. "Your momma isn't going to be very happy with you, you know."

The girls gulped. "Uh oh…"

* * *

**Oooh, so, review?**


	2. AN

**Hey, readers!**

**I really wish I didn't have to post this up, but I guess I have no choice...**

**My laptop decided to not turn on this morning. It doesn't mean that I don't have access to the internet, but it does mean that I have absolutely no access to the chapters I've written already. It also means that there's a chance that I may lose the chapters once it gets fixed, but *fingers crossed* that won't happen. I hope.**

**So, anyway, I'm really, ****_really_**** sorry guys. I really wanted to update my stories, but I guess I'll have to wait another week or so.**

**I hope you all forgive me.**

**AJ xxx**


	3. Accidents at Home

_**Kate and TJ are 5. AJ is 2. Maria is 19.**_

"Okay, you two, say bye to mommy and daddy."

The twins nodded obediently and kissed their parents on the cheeks before hugging them. "Bye-bye, momma. Bye-bye, papa."

Tony chuckled as his daughters kissed his cheeks. "There's no need for you two to be all sad – mommy and daddy will be home tonight, okay?" he told them, kissing their foreheads softly and ruffling their hair.

The girls nodded shyly, smiling. "Okay."

Ziva smiled and looked over at Maria. "Anthony is already asleep, although he should be awake in about ten minutes for dinner. All of their clothes should be set out for them, and they should be in bed by seven. Tony and I should be home by eight," she instructed her younger sister.

Maria nodded. "Yes, ma'am." She grinned and hugged Ziva, kissing her on the cheek before she could protest. "See you two later!" she said to them.

Ziva narrowed her eyes at her younger sister for the "ma'am" before chuckling. "Okay, we shall see you later." She kissed her sister on the cheek, and then kissed her daughters on their foreheads and caressed their cheeks. "I shall see you two later, although I expect you to be asleep," she told them sternly.

The girls nodded obediently, smiling innocently.

"Yeah, yeah, okay, you can go now," Maria said, shooing the two adults out of the front door. "Bye!"

The twins smiled and waved. "Bye mommy! Bye daddy!"

Once their parents where gone, Maria turned to the girls. "So, who wants pizza for dinner?" she asked, grinning at the girls.

The twins grinned in return. "Yay!"

* * *

"Mmmm!" TJ grinned as she took a final bite from her pizza. "That was yummy!" she complimented.

Kate nodded in agreement as she put down the crust of hers.

There was tomato sauce all over her mouth from where she hadn't been so tidy with her pizza, and there were also crumbs on her chin from the base of her pizza. This little girl didn't like her crusts.

TJ, on the other hand, was a lot cleaner than her sister, which was actually quite ironic considering their personalities. She only had a little tomato sauce on her chin, although her fingers were still very greasy from holding the pizza.

And then there was AJ, with his pasta – he had to have something completely different to the girls, as usual – all over his face, clothes and little table. One could even see the occasional piece of pasta in his curls.

Maria chuckled and grabbed two napkins for the girls, wiping their faces and their hands, before reaching out to get the pasta out of AJ's hair and picking all of the pasta off his shirt. "Right, you two," she said, looking over to the twins, "take your plates to the kitchen." She continued to clean the pasta and the sauce off his face.

"Yes, Auntie 'Ria." The twins slid off their chairs and picked up their plates, carefully walking into the kitchen to place them in the sink as they were taught to by their parents. Once they had done so, TJ walked to the corner of the room and pulled over the girls' sink stool, and both girls washed their hands.

Maria smiled as she stood at the kitchen door, holding her own plate. "Well done, girls," she told them. She walked in once they were done and put hers and AJ's plates into the sink. "Momma and Papa would've been proud of you, you know that?" she asked them, looking over at the girls.

The girls nodded, grinning. "Yup," they said, popping the 'p'.

"Okay, how about you go and play now?"

They grinned. "Yay!" they exclaimed as they ran off.

"Sit down for a few minutes first!" Maria called out as she rolled up her sleeves. She turned to the sink to begin doing the washing-up.

Of course, the two girls did do as their aunt said.

For a few minutes.

Once they became extremely bored, they decided to get off their mini-couch in the living room and play a game, leaving the television on their favourite programme.

"Tag! You're 'it'!" TJ cried out as she tapped her sister's shoulder before running off.

Kate pouted. "Hey!" she exclaimed before she chased after her sister, giggling.

Maria sighed from where she stood in the kitchen, rinsing the dishes. "Be careful, you two!" she called out.

Her warning fell on deaf ears as the twins ran upstairs, attracting the attention of their younger brother as he ran after them, giggling. The girls chased each other in and out of the rooms upstairs, hiding in cupboards and crawling under beds to get away from each other.

They seemed to be having fun… until Maria heard a scream.

The teenager quickly dropped the plate she was holding and ran out into the corridor. Once there, she found Kate and AJ standing at the bottom of the stairs, screaming, whilst TJ lay on the stairs, her eyes wide.

"Oh crap," Maria muttered before running over to TJ. "TJ, honey, are you okay?"

"Can't… breathe…" the little girl whimpered, her eyes wide.

"Okay, okay, TJ, relax for me." Maria could see the panic in the little girl's eyes. She turned to Kate. "Kate, take your little brother to the living room and call Grandpa Ducky. And tell him that it is an emergency, okay?"

Kate nodded and ran to the living room, pulling her little brother along with her.

Maria then carefully pulled TJ onto her lap and began rubbing her back slowly. "Breathe, TJ, breathe."

TJ slowly began to breathe before bursting into tears.

Maria carefully rocked TJ, trying to calm her down. Of course, this had been very unexpected and sudden for them all, but this was worst for TJ. The little girl's cried soon died down to quiet sobs as she rested on Maria's lap.

Maria stroked TJ's hair. "TJ?"

TJ whimpered softly. "I-i-it h-hurts…"

Maria nodded and kissed TJ's forehead. "I know, honey. I know." She rubbed TJ's back in circles as she tried to calm her down. "Where does it hurt?"

"M-m-my b-back…" TJ whimpered as she leaned her head on Maria's chest. "I-it hurts…" she sobbed.

Maria nodded. "Okay, calm down. It's okay. You'll be okay."

* * *

As soon as Kate reached the living room, she headed for the phone. She left AJ to his own activities, such as watching TV and playing with his toys, whilst the picked up the phone and pressed speed dial six, holding the phone to her ear.

After about three rings, the phone was answered. "_Hello?_"

"Gran'pa Ducky?"

Kate could literally hear the smile in his voice. "_Why, dear Caitlyn! What a surprise! How are you my dear?_"

"I'm fine thank you," she replied politely. "But TJ…"

"_Ah, yes, your sister. How is she?_"

"She… she fell down the stairs!"

There was a pause on the other side of the line. "_She fell?_"

Kate nodded before answering. "Yes!"

The was a scuffling, as if Ducky was moving from where he was. "_I will be there as soon as possible. Is there anyone at home with you, Caitlyn?_"

"Auntie 'Ria is."

"_Alright, tell her to keep TJ calm, and tell her not to let TJ fall asleep._"

Kate nodded. "Okay, Gran'pa."

The line cut.

Kate sighed. She hoped her sister would be alright.

* * *

Maria descended the stairs carefully and entered the living room, where TJ lay on the sofa. Ducky was kneeling in front of her, checking her back over and over for any serious injuries. He had his stethoscope pressed to the child's back.

"How is she?" Maria asked as she walked in.

Ducky looked over at Maria and smiled. "She seems to be doing very well. Just a bit of bruising on her back. Nothing too serious." He stood. "You must remind the children to be more careful at home, Maria."

"I did, Ducky," Maria sighed. "They just… I don't know. They probably ignored me."

Ducky nodded. "Well, Tali, what has that taught you?"

TJ bit her lip. "To listen to Auntie 'Ria…"

"Good girl." He picked up his bags. "Well, I must be going. I promised Mr Palmer that I would have a dinner with him and his wife tonight. It was a shame that I had to cancel last minute. I do hope that my apology will be accepted…" he rambled on as he headed for the door.

Maria followed him to the door. "Thank you again, Ducky, for coming on such short notice."

"It's perfectly fine, Maria."

Maria smiled and opened the door for him. "So, we will see you soon?"

"Of course. Not too soon, though, I hope. With those three DiNozzo children, we are bound to meet more often than needed."

Maria chuckled. "That's true."

Ducky smiled at her and tipped his hat before walking out of the door. "Have a good night, Ms David."

"You too, Dr Mallard."

* * *

Ziva smiled as she and Tony pulled up in the driveway. Her hand rested upon his as he moved the gear stick back into Park and pulled up the handbrake.

Tony smiled at her. "That was a lovely evening."

She nodded. "Yes, it was." She kissed him softly. "Maybe we should take this inside?"

He raised an eyebrow. "The kids are home."

"The children are asleep."

He grinned. "Then I believe we should."

Ziva smiled and was about to kiss him again when she spotted the front door being opened. She frowned and watched as Ducky walked out of the house. "Tony…"

Tony turned to look at what she was looking at with a frown on his face, and his eyes widened. He quickly stepped out of the car. "Hey, Ducky!" he greeted.

Ducky looked over at Tony and smiled. "Anthony, lad, I see you have returned home!"

Tony walked over to Ducky. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"It seems that your children had a little… accident…"

Tony's eyes widened. "What kind of accident?"

Ducky shook his head. "I do not believe it is my place to tell. Maria, however…"

Tony turned and beckoned Ziva out of the car.

Ziva quickly climbed out.

"Thanks Ducky," Tony said before heading to the front door. He waited for Ziva to join his before opening it with his keys. "Maria!" he called out as he walked in.

Kate ran out of the living room when she heard her father calling for Maria. "Daddy!"

Ziva frowned. "Kate? What are you doing up?"

Kate just ran over and hugged her father's legs. "Daddy! TJ's hurt!"

Ziva's eyes widened. "Maria!" she called out.

Said teen walked out of the living room. Her eyes were wide. "Oh, you're home… hey."

Tony crossed his arms. "What's going on?"

She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Well, the kids were kind of playing inside the house… and they were running up and down the stairs…"

Ziva's eyes widened. "Who fell?"

"TJ slipped."

"Where is she?"

"In the living room. Ducky gave her a check-up, and he says she's fine."

Ziva nodded and headed to the living room to check on her daughter.

Tony sighed and ran his hand over his face tiredly.

Maria bit her lip. "I'm so sorry, Tony…"

He just shook his head. "It was an accident, I get it." He bent down and picked Kate up, noticing her yawn. "I'll just get Kate to bed."

Maria nodded. "AJ's already asleep in his room."

Tony nodded as he headed upstairs with Kate in his arms. Her head was resting in his shoulder and her thumb had already slipped into her mouth. When Tony arrived in his room, he smiled when he realized Kate was already in her pyjamas and lay her down on her bed.

Kate quickly snuggled underneath the covers, closing her eyes.

Tony smiled and kissed her forehead. "Good night, Kate." He got up and began to head out of the room.

"Daddy?"

Tony paused and turned back. "Yes, Kate?"

Her eyes were open, revealing the green pair that matched his. "Is… is TJ gonna be alright?" she asked quietly.

Tony walked back over to her bed and knelt down beside it. "TJ's gonna be fine, honey."

"T… Tali said she couldn't breathe…"

He tensed. "Really?"

"Yeah, and then Auntie 'Ria helped her to breathe again."

Tony gave a huge sigh of relief.

"She didn't mean to fall down the stairs…"

Tony stroked Kate's hair gently. "I know, honey. I know." He kissed her forehead. "Accidents happen. But TJ is alright now."

Kate nodded, closing her eyes. "Yeah…" she sighed softly.

Tony smiled. "Go to sleep, honey."

Kate nodded, yawning.

A few minutes later, Ziva walked into the room carrying TJ in her arms. She walked over to the younger twin's bed and placed her down carefully.

Tony looked over. "Is she asleep?"

Ziva nodded. "How about Kate?"

"She's asleep too." Tony stood up. "I'm going to check on AJ."

Ziva reached over and took his hand. "Tony, wait."

He paused.

"It is not Maria's fault that TJ got hurt," she told him.

Tony sighed. "Ziva, I don't blame her…"

"Then what is wrong? You are not your cheerful self. What is bothering you?"

Tony sighed. "Ziva… what if this happens every time we go out? What if…"

She shook her head and kissed him softly. "It was one time. I do not believe it will ever happen again, Tony."

"Do you really think so?" Tony asked with a worried and hopeful look on his face.

Ziva smiled softly. "I know so."

* * *

**Review!**


	4. Narnia

**Hey, guys! How are you all? I hope you're all doing great! Anyway, I have your next chapter for you! I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

_**Kate & TJ are 5**_

Tony was exhausted.

The whole week, the MCRT had been working on case after case after case that had suddenly popped up, which was surprising since it was nowhere near the time of the year that cases spiked up like this. This meant that it had been taking a toll on the father of three, soon to be four, as he had to work hours upon hours – from eight until ten – and then return home to take care of his children, who should have been in bed, but were obviously taking advantage of their pregnant mother and the fact that Maria was at university.

Saying it was tiring was an understatement.

Heck, saying it was _exhausting_ was an understatement.

It was driving him mad.

"_Daddy!_"

Tony groaned from where he sat on the couch. He had only just managed to relax…

TJ and Kate bounded into the living room, their dark hair bouncing up and down and their green eyes sparkling. They grinned as they skipped over to their father and jumped up on the sofa on either side of him.

"Daddy, are you asleep?" Kate asked.

TJ poked his cheek, giggling when Tony opened one eye and looked over at her. "Daddy, you look funny!"

Tony just smirked before reaching out for the remote and turning on the TV, smiling when he saw what was on.

_The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe_

The twins turned to look at the TV screen in interest before smiling. "Daddy, what is this?" they asked simultaneously.

Tony smiled tiredly. "It's Narnia. Why don't you two watch this? It's a very nice movie."

The twins nodded before sitting down on the couch on either side of their father, leaning on him as they watched it. They hadn't managed to watch the movie from the beginning, so the twins didn't exactly know how the four Pevensies had gotten into Narnia.

Tony smirked as he watched the twins watch the movie with high interest. "You know, I've been to Narnia before…" he whispered.

The twins' eyes widened and they looked up at him. "Really?"

Tony nodded. Giving his girls a bit of imagination wouldn't hurt anyone.

The two girls grinned before turning back to the TV to watch the film. They were intrigued by the lion, Aslan, greatly… mainly because they knew that lions couldn't talk. But if lions could talk in Narnia…

"Daddy?" Kate asked, looking up at her father.

Tony looked down at her tiredly. "Yes, Kate?" he asked.

She considered her question for a few seconds, contemplating what to say next, before talking. "What's Narnia like?"

That set TJ off. The younger twin gasped and looked up at her father with her big green eyes. "Are there lots of lions? Are there lots of tigers?" She gave a huge, dramatic gasp. "Is there a giant chocolate fountain?"

"Have you met Aslan?" Kate asked, ever the logical one.

"What's he like?" TJ asked. "Is he big and scary, or just a giant kitty cat?"

Tony was overwhelmed. He hadn't really expected the girls to start asking so many questions… and he was just so tired now, to be honest he just wanted some peace and quiet. "You know what?" he asked the twins. "Why don't you find out for yourselves?"

The twins gasped. "Really?"

Tony nodded.

"Yay!" The two little girls jumped off the sofa and ran out of the room excitedly, heading off on an 'adventure'.

Tony sighed blissfully at the relative silence. He closed his eyes and leaned back into the sofa. He could still hear the movie going on, but at least he could fall asleep to that…

He frowned when he felt someone jump onto his lap, and opened his eyes.

TJ was there.

He sighed. "Yes?"

"How do you get to Narnia?" she asked him curiously.

Tony sighed before thinking about it. "Well, first you have to find a wardrobe…" he started.

"Like the one in yours and momma's room?" Kate asked curiously.

Tony snapped his fingers and grinned. "Yes! Like the one in mine and mommy's room." He smiled. "Then you climb in and close the doors…"

TJ was grinning by now. "Then what, daddy?"

Kate looked intrigued. "Yeah, then what?"

"You close your eyes… and then you count to five… and then you'll be in Narnia!"

The twins grinned. "Yay!" They ran upstairs.

Tony gave a huge sigh of relief.

They were Ziva's problem now.

* * *

Kate grinned as she sat in the wardrobe with her sister.

They were going to Narnia.

They were going to see Aslan.

They were going to a magical land.

And it was going to be fun.

TJ covered her eyes. "Ready?" she asked.

Kate nodded and did the same. "Ready."

"One… two… three…"

"Four… five!" Kate grinned. "Open!"

Both girls opened their eyes, expecting to see Narnia. When they didn't see what they had expected, they frowned.

"Hey!" Kate cried, feeling confused. "Where's the snow?"

TJ frowned before it clicked. Her eyes narrowed. "This isn't Narnia!" She pouted.

Kate frowned before trying to open the door for the girls to get out. Her eyes widened when the door wouldn't budge. "Uh… TJ?"

TJ looked over towards her sister. "Yeah?"

"We're locked in."

Both girls' eyes widened before they began pounding on the door. "Help!"

* * *

"Tony!"

Tony groaned as he opened his eyes. "What?"

Ziva put her hands on her hips as she glared at her husband. "Where are they?"

Tony sighed. "AJ is sleeping up in his room. It's way past his nap time."

Ziva sighed. "You know that is not what I meant, Tony."

Tony thought about it for a moment before sighing. "They're playing hide and seek. Last I heard they were running into our bedroom."

Ziva sighed and waddled upstairs, being pregnant with their fourth child. "I have told them not to go into our room many times…" she muttered. "So many times…" She headed down the corridor, past the twins' and AJ's room, past the nursery, into hers and Tony's bedroom. She looked around the room, sighing. "Oh God… where are they?"

Then she froze. She heard something…

Sobbing.

And it was coming from the wardrobe…

Ziva crept towards the wardrobe. "Hello?" she asked cautiously, her agent side going into overdrive. What was…?

Suddenly, there was a pounding on the other side of the door.

Ziva jumped back, scared by the sudden pounding.

"Help! Help!"

She recognized the cries coming from the other side of the door and quickly waddled over to the door, opening it quickly. "Tali? Kate?"

The two little girls looked up at their mother, tears streaming down their cheeks as their lower lips quivered. "M-m-momma?"

Ziva's eyes widened. "I have been looking for you two everywhere!" She then frowned. "What is wrong? Why are you two crying?"

The two girls sobbed before looking up at their mother with teary eyes. "Because there's no such thing as Narnia!"

Ziva blinked before it suddenly registered. She growled.

"_Tony!_"

* * *

**So... review!**


	5. Daycare Pickups

**Hey, readers! I have another chapter for you! I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

"Tony!"

Tony looked up from his paperwork. For the first time in what felt like years, the head of the DiNozzo household was actually having the chance to do paperwork.

And he was willingly doing it.

So when he heard Ziva call his name from the direction on the elevator, he knew that it was simply too good to last.

He sighed and looked over at her, where she stood holding baby Timothy in one arm and the baby bag on the other. "Yes, honey?" he asked he, putting a smile on his face.

Ziva smiled apologetically. "I know you are finally having the time to do your paperwork, Tony, but could you please pick Anthony up from daycare today? I have my hands full with Timothy…"

Tony nodded, running a hand through his hair. It had been his idea, after all, to get the kids sent to a daycare outside NCIS during the day, and then brought to the NCIS daycare every evening. He didn't want anything that put him in danger to endanger his children, so keeping them away from NCIS seemed to be the best decision.

However, it did mean that he had to go and pick them up as well.

Tony got up from his desk, grabbing his keys and swinging them around his finger. He smiled at his wife and pecked her on the lips softly before heading over to the elevator. "I'll be back in ten. Love you."

Ziva smiled up at him as she cradled baby Tim close to her chest. "I love you too, Tony. I will see you soon."

Tony nodded and waved as he headed into the elevator. Just as he was walking inside, he heard a call from behind him. He turned and held the doors open for whoever had called him, smiling when he found it was McGee. "Hey, Tim."

McGee smiled at him as he joined him inside the elevator. "Hey, Tony. You picking AJ up?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah… you picking Sarah up?" he asked.

McGee nodded. "I think I'm dreading it already…"

Tony sighed as he leaned against the back wall of the elevator. "So am I… how does Mukta survive with them?"

"I have no idea…"

Tony thought about it. "Well, however she manages to deal with them, I want her to teach me as well."

McGee chuckled. "Don't we all?"

* * *

Tony smiled as he pulled up in front of the day-care.

It was a moderately sized building, which was owned by Mukta and Arif themselves. The outside of the building was painted a bright yellow, meaning if you drove past it you definitely wouldn't miss it, and was decorated in rainbows and numbers and letters in many different colours. There were even huge multicoloured shapes on the path leading up to the day-care door. Surrounding the building there were gardens, and there was even a playground at the back for the children to play in.

As Tony climbed out of the car, he spotted some of the other parents arriving to pick up their children. He turned to head towards the day-care centre and spotted McGee climbing out of his own car. He nodded at his fellow agent before the two headed inside to pick up their children.

To be honest, it wasn't actually that bad…

Until they actually had to get the children ready to leave.

"AJ!" Tony growled as he watched his son run and hide under a nearby desk, which AJ was miraculously small enough to fit underneath. He quickly knelt down to grab AJ's foot and drag him out from underneath the table, nearly cursing when AJ crawled further away. "Get back here!"

"No!" AJ giggled, crawling further and further away.

Tony sighed and stood, looking around to see if McGee was having better luck with Sarah.

By the annoyed and tired look on the younger agent's face, he wasn't having much better luck with Sarah. The little McGee was running in and out of his legs, dodging his hands and getting him all tangled up.

McGee sighed irritably. "Sarah! Stop it and come and get your coat on!" he commanded, growling slightly as he watched her run off.

"No!" Sarah giggled, running into the garden.

McGee groaned. "Oh, come on, Sarah!"

Tony sighed, feeling incredibly irritated. He ran a hand through his hair. Maybe there was a way to get the two… _maybe_… He smirked. He had an idea. He quickly turned to McGee. "Hey, Tim! I think I have an idea…"

McGee looked over at Tony with a quizzical look on his face. "What have you got in mind, Tony?" he asked.

Tony smirked. "You go for AJ, I'll go for Sarah?" he suggested.

McGee grinned. "Good idea." He nodded at Tony before heading over to the table where AJ was hiding.

Tony took a deep breath before heading out to the garden. "Oh, Sarah…"

* * *

Ziva looked up from where she had been rocking Tim to sleep to see both Tony and McGee walking into the office, holding the children. She smiled softly. "How was it?"

Tony just glared at her slightly. "Next time, you're picking them up." He carefully carried AJ over to his desk and sat down, whilst Tim sat at his with Sarah.

Ziva raised an eyebrow. "What happened?" she asked curiously.

Tony sighed.

"_Sarah McGee! Get down here right now!" Tony yelled as he ran over to where she was climbing the climbing frame in the playground._

_Sarah just grinned at him from the top of the climbing frame. "Hello Uncle Tony!" she called out, waving and giggling._

"_Sarah!" Tony whined. "Come on…"_

_She shook her head. "I like it here!" she giggled._

_Tony sighed, now standing at the bottom of the climbing frame. He needed to get this stubborn girl down now… "I'll buy you some ice cream?" he offered. "With lots and lots of strawberries, just the way you like them!"_

_The little girl seemed tempted by this for a few seconds before she shook her head. "Daddy says I'm not allowed ice cream during the week," she said. "He says it's bad for your teeth."_

_Tony mentally cursed. McGee and his stupid rules… "Did he say anything about chocolate?"_

_Sarah shook her head. "No…"_

"_How about some chocolate, then?"_

"_Chocolate makes my teeth feel sticky. I don't like it."_

_He groaned. She was such a difficult little girl. "Then I'm coming up to get you!" He began to climb the climbing frame._

_Sarah just giggled as she watched her uncle climb up before climbing down on the other side. She grinned when she stood on the ground, watching her uncle at the top._

_Tony looked around for a couple of seconds before frowning. "Sarah?"_

"_I'm over here, Uncle Tony!"_

_Tony looked down to see little Sarah standing there, looking innocent. He blinked before sighing. "You cheeky little…"_

_Sarah giggled before turning towards the building and running over. "Daddy!"_

_Tony's eyes widened._

_McGee smiled as he picked up his daughter, holding her in one arm as he held AJ in the other. "Hey, princess. Where's Uncle Tony?"_

_Sarah giggled. "On the climbing frame!"_

_McGee frowned before looking over at the climbing frame. His jaw dropped. "Tony…?"_

_Tony just rolled his eyes. "Just shut up and help me get down from here!"_

"Nothing much," Tony answered. "I just don't want to be stuck picking AJ up again."

McGee smirked before chuckling quietly. "Yeah. Nothing happened," he repeated sarcastically.

Tony glared at McGee.

Ziva chuckled. _I wonder what happened…_

* * *

**Review!**_  
_


	6. Ruined Christmas

**Hey, readers! I know, it's been a while, but I've had loads of exams to revise for, which cuts down my writing time. Not only that, but I had writer's block as well, which is the main reason why this oneshot is shorter than my oneshots usually are, and why I wrote those other two Tiva oneshots - I wanted to release my inspiration elsewhere before trying to write for this again.**

**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, despite its shortness. Read on!**

**Oh, and ignore the Christmas theme ^_^**

* * *

_**(Kate & TJ are 6)**_

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…

Well, that was how it was meant to be anyway.

TJ shot up in bed when she heard a loud bang from downstairs, rubbing her eyes and looking around wildly. She was sure she'd heard something go 'bang' downstairs… something had fallen. Either that, or…

There was another 'bang' as well as a hiss (well, it was a silent swear-word), and TJ quickly turned to her sister. "Kate!" she hissed. When she didn't stir, she hissed again. "Kate!"

When Kate finally stirred, she directed a pair of half-open green eyes at her sister. "What?" she asked sleepily.

"There's someone downstairs!" she explained, her green eyes wide with excitement.

Kate just glared at her sleepily before turning to face away and sleep again. "So what? Go and check it out if you want," she muttered sleepily.

TJ pouted and climbed out of her bed before jumping straight onto her sister's, earning a squeal from the older twin.

"TJ!" Kate snapped. "Get off me!" She thrashed about under the covers, trying to push her sister off herself and the bed.

TJ yelped and fell off the bed, wincing when she landed on the not-so-soft carpet. "Ow…" she muttered. "That hurt, Kate!" she whined.

"Then don't jump onto my bed whilst I'm sleeping!" Kate snapped before turning over and trying to fall back asleep.

TJ pouted. "Katie…" she whined again, looking over at her sister pleadingly. "Please can you come downstairs with me?"

Kate winced. She hated it when her sister used that nickname – it always meant that she was going to get what she wanted. After a few seconds of thinking, she finally decided to get out of bed. "Fine."

TJ grinned and jumped up, hugging her sister quietly. "Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Don't thank me." Kate scowled sleepily as she led her sister to the door. "Now, come on. I want to find out whatever you want to find out and then go back to bed. It's Christmas Day tomorrow, and I want to wake up early to find out what we got this year."

TJ nodded eagerly. "I wonder what Santa got me this year!"

Katie had to try very hard to resist facepalming. Of course, being the older twin, she was far more logical like their mother, and so she knew that Santa Clause didn't exist. It was rare for a six-year-old to think like this, but it was just the way that she was.

TJ, on the other hand, still had the mind of a child, much like their father did, and so she refused to disbelieve in Santa. She saw no need to disbelieve, and so she would believe until there was proof that Santa didn't exist.

The two exited and descended the stairs quietly, tiptoeing. They didn't know who was downstairs, or who in the house was awake at all for that matter, so they didn't want to risk anyone catching them or waking anyone up.

After about ten minutes of avoiding creaky floorboards and keeping to the shadows, the two girls finally managed to make it downstairs. TJ put her finger to her lips and hushed her sister before leading the pair into the living room.

What they found was quite a surprise.

Their father, Tony DiNozzo, sat by the base of the Christmas tree, a roll of wrapping paper and a huge present in his lap and his finger in his mouth. He looked pretty sour and upset, especially since he was wearing his pyjamas – that just made him look even grumpier. "Stupid paper cut…" he muttered under his breath.

TJ frowned. "Daddy?" she asked hesitantly.

Tony tensed before slowly turning to face the girls. _Oh shit…_ "Hey, girls," he greeted, forcing a smile onto his face.

The girls stood there, staring at him in shock for a few seconds, before a triumphant grin spread across Kate's face.

"I told you there was no such thing as Santa Clause!" she teased, turning to TJ.

Tears welled up in TJ's eyes as her bottom lip quivered, and she stared at her dad. "You lied to me, daddy?"

Tony's eyes were wide. "No… TJ… I…"

TJ turned and ran back upstairs, not bothering to move with the same agility as she had come down with as she stomped on all of the creaky floorboards, and slammed her bedroom door shut behind her.

Tony winced at the loud banging noise, and he cringed even more when he heard AJ begin to cry. "Dammit, TJ…"

Kate just stared at her father. "Way to go, daddy."

Tony sighed and looked over at her. "What was that, Kate?" he asked, running a hand over his tired face.

"You ruined TJ's Christmas," she pointed out. "Now she'll never believe in Santa Clause again, and it's your fault." She turned and headed upstairs to sleep, wanting to be bright and awake for Christmas morning.

Tony groaned.

A few minutes later, Ziva descended the stairs and waddled into the living room. "Tony…?"

Tony looked over at his wife. "Yes, honey?"

"What was that all about?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "TJ found out that Santa's not real."

Ziva paused for a few seconds, contemplating on how to reply. Then she spoke.

"Well, that was considerably calmer than I had been expecting."

* * *

**Review!**


	7. Monster's Inc

**Hey, guys! I know, it's been a long, _long_ while, but I've had barely any inspiration... at all. I've had major writer's block, and I've also had exams to study for, so the ideas haven't been flowing as well for this story. Not only that, but I've been constantly getting inspiration for other stories, so I end up writing them instead! I'm so sorry, guys! But hey, good news! I have another oneshot for you! I know this is short, and quite pitiful, but the prompt for this wasn't exactly big. So, here you go!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Kate & TJ are 6**_

Ziva sighed as she sat back in the sofa, watching the two girls sitting in front of her.

To be completely honest, Ziva was still on maternity leave. If you asked her, she would say that she's just got the day off work. Both the boys were sleeping, with Timothy sleeping usually around this time of day and AJ having a nap.

So today she had decided to watch a film with the twins – she had decided to watch "Monsters Inc."

It was a big mistake.

See, despite the fact that the girls were identical, they were completely different in their personalities. Whereas TJ was bold and outgoing, Kate was shier and an introvert. Whilst TJ was playful and tom-boyish, Kate was girlier and calmer.

So when TJ was in love with Monsters Inc., Kate was terrified of it.

Hence the reason why Kate was currently hiding behind a pillow, whereas TJ was sitting there excitedly, literally bouncing in her seat.

The front door opened, and there was a call of, "I'm home for lunch!"

"Daddy!" Both girls got up and ran out to meet Tony, who had just returned home for his lunch.

He smiled and picked both girls up. "Hey, how are my little princesses?"

TJ grinned. "I'm great!" she giggled.

Kate pouted and rested her head on her dad's shoulder. "I'm not…"

Tony frowned. "Why aren't you great, Kate?"

TJ giggled. "That rhymes!"

The older twin just continued to pout, ignoring her younger sister. "We watched Monster's Inc. today…" she told Tony.

Tony's eyebrows rose. "Really? Didn't you enjoy it?"

She shook her head.

"Why not?"

"It made me scared…"

TJ now also had a confused look on her face. "Why are you scared, Kate?" she asked in her little childish voice.

"Because now a monster's gonna come out of my closet and eat me!" Kate wailed.

Tony sighed and looked over at Ziva, who was sitting in the living room. "You see, Ziva? This is what happens when you let our kids watch Monster's Inc.," he told her as he headed into the living room.

TJ frowned. "Yeah, well I'm not scared!" she pointed out boldly. "My monster's gonna make me laugh, like Mike Wazowski!" she giggled.

Ziva stared at the two girls – the one giggling and the one curled up and very close to tears in her father's arms – and shook her head slowly.

"O dios mio. _**(Oh my god.)**_"

* * *

**So... review!**


	8. The Lion King

**Hey, guys! I have your next oneshot here for you to read! It's not very long, considering the prompt I had for this one wasn't exactly long either, and I apologise for its shortness, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! Admittedly, it didn't exactly take me long to write this one, but I've had so many exams and so little time to write. (Don't worry, I will get back to some of my other fanfics, although it may take a couple of weeks considering I've got loads of exams squeezed into next week.)**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

_**Kate & TJ are 6.**_

"Okay, class, it's movie time!"

"Yay!" The children in the classroom cheered as they ran over from their various stations to sit on the carpet in front of the class TV. Some had paint on their hands, others had pen on their faces, and a couple had water on their t-shirts. Some even had sand in their hair (although that was mainly the boys – the girls were far cleaner).

"What are we watching today, miss?" one of the children asked.

The teacher smiled. "Today, we're going to watch The Lion King!" she announced as she put the DVD into the DVD player.

The children all cheered – all apart from one.

That was Caitlyn DiNozzo.

It was about three quarters of the way through the movie when everything started to go downhill – it was at the ending scene, with Simba and Scar fighting.

Kate sat near the back of the group of children, hugging her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth slightly. "Nothing's gonna happen, nothing's gonna happen…" she muttered repeatedly to herself as she continued to rock.

The poor little girl was terrified. Movies had never really been her thing – especially movies that involved monsters or some sort of scary fight scene. They all frightened her a lot, and they all ended up making her cry at one point or another – whether it was at the beginning or the end.

The whole class watched as Scar, the villain of the whole movie, jumped out of the fire on screen, his claws out as he roared.

Kate screamed, catching the attention of the teacher for the tenth time in that movie. "_MOMMY_!" she cried.

The teacher walked over to her and knelt down beside her. "Kate, sweetheart, you have to calm down…"

Kate continued to scream and cry, hitting the teacher in the process. "No! It's a scary lion!" she cried, hitting the teacher with her fists.

The teacher grabbed her fists, stopping her from attacking. "Caitlyn DiNozzo, we do _not_ hit other people! Ever! Especially _teachers_!" When Kate continued to scream and kick, the teacher raised her voice, catching the attention of all of the other children in the room. "Caitlyn DiNozzo, if you don't calm down this instant, you will go to the head!"

Of course, the teacher was British.

But Kate was American.

The little girl stopped screaming, her throat sore, although she was still sobbing quietly. "But miss… I don't need to pee…" she whimpered quietly.

The teacher stared at her before chuckling slightly in amusement.

The DiNozzo kids certainly were one-of-a-kind.

* * *

**Review!**


	9. Disneyland Florida

**Hey, guys! I have your next short-story/oneshot for you! I'm sorry it took so long, but I had exams and then I needed to get some of my other stories updated as well because I, personally, don't like leaving stories too long. So here it is; I hope you enjoy it!**

**Read on!**

* * *

_**(Kate & TJ are 6)**_

The sound of screams and laughing could be heard all around the young DiNozzo family as they walked through the theme park. The young family had decided to take a holiday to Disneyland Florida for the summer holidays – as Tony and Ziva had both managed to get about three weeks off to spend with just their children – and now they were having the time of their lives. Or, the kids were.

Tony and Ziva had split up for the day, with Tony taking the girls and Maria and Ziva taking Anthony. The two women had taken Anthony to the rides for the younger children, considering Ziva couldn't go on the bigger rides because she was pregnant. Tony, on the other hand, was taking the twins towards the safari and Lion King area, where he knew there would be animals awake for the girls to see.

It wasn't until they reached the safari area and headed on one of the rides to see the animals that Tony realised his mistake.

TJ looked around with wide eyes, watching all of the animals with interest and waving at them, despite the fact that she knew they wouldn't wave back. "Look, daddy! A monkey! And a zebra! And an an-te-lope!" The six-year-old grinned at her ability to pronounce the name of the animal.

Tony smiled and nodded as he looked at the animals as well, watching over TJ so that she didn't do anything stupid. Considering she was the twin most like him, she was the highly unpredictable wild-card of the pair and so he never knew what to expect with her.

Kate, on the other hand, was the more predictable and calmer twin. If the two were to be involved in a crime (heaven forbid), she would be the one plotting the escape plan so that they could get out safely and negotiate wherever needed. The girl was incredibly sneaky, like her mother, but she was also easy to scare.

Especially on safaris.

TJ gasped dramatically as she spotted another animal on the far side of the park. "Daddy, look! It's a lion!"

Kate immediately tensed and moved closer to Tony, almost hiding behind him.

TJ was oblivious to her sister's discomfort and continued to talk. "It's such a pretty lion! That's a boy lion, isn't it daddy? I want to touch it – its hair looks so big!"

Just as Tony was about to tell TJ that children couldn't really pet lions, Kate spoke up.

"No!" she exclaimed, reaching out for her sister. "Don't! It's gonna eat you, TJ!" She began to cry. "I don't want the lion to eat you!"

Tony watched Kate with wide eyes, feeling uncomfortable as people began to stare. TJ was on the verge of tears now, not exactly looking forward to the prospect of being eaten by a lion.

"Don't worry, TJ!" Tony said, trying to sound heroic in order to cheer his girls up. "I'll save you from the lion before it can eat you!"

Kate sniffled and rubbed her eyes, looking up at her father. "But… then isn't the lion going to eat you too?" she asked quietly.

Nothing could have prepared Tony for the flood of tears that followed Kate's statement.

Nothing.

* * *

**Review!**


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